'Today': NY Times Goes to Bat for Bonds

NewsBusters ^ | Mark Finkelstein

[governsleastgovernsbest]

When New-York based 'Today' went looking for a local sports reporter to defend Barry Bonds, it didn't turn to the New York Post, whose headline this morning reads "JUNK BONDS: ‘SULTAN OF SYRINGE'. Nor was it likely that the designated hitter would be someone from the Daily News, whose back page screams "King of Shame." Instead, "Today" turned to the New York Times, and in particular to sports writer William Rhoden [pictured here with Lauer], to embrace Bonds.

'TODAY' CO-ANCHOR MATT LAUER: You've been very critical of baseball actually leading up to this milestone for the way they've been wringing their hands trying to figure out what to do with this record. Barry Bonds you wrote, quote, "he will be baseball's king, it's emperor, it's czar." How are you feeling this morning?

NYT SPORTS REPORTER WILLIAM RHODEN: I think it's a great moment, Matt. It really is. It's an historic moment. The number's there, no matter. There's going to continue to be hand-wringing, but there's no hand-wringing in the Bonds household [proving what?] . . . It's just a tremendous accomplishment . . . I don't think anyone doubts that.

View video here.

Fortunately, sports commentator Bob Costas was there to provide balance. In a July episode of the "Costas Now" HBO show he hosts, Costas' guests were Red Sox pitcher Curt Schilling and chemist Patrick Arnold, both of whom expressed the opinion, in which Costas joined, that Bonds had taken steroids. Bonds replied by calling the 5' 6" Costas a "little midget man who knows (nothing) about baseball."

LAUER: You have bristled at the idea he is innocent until proven guilty.

SPORTS COMMENTATOR BOB COSTAS: This "innocent until proven guilty" is an insufferable platitude that is masquerading as high-mindedness, as if those of us who don't withhold all judgment need a remedial course in civics. First of all, this isn't a criminal case. We're not talking about depriving him of his liberty, or for that matter his livelihood. But if for the sake of argument it were a criminal case, you would have more than enough evidence not only to establish that he used performance-enhancing drugs, but to establish that he used them in copious amounts and that he wasn't just assisted but transformed as a player as a result. And you would prove that beyond any reasonable doubt.

Lauer then brought another Times reporter off the bench to bolster Rhoden, reading from an article today by NYT reporter George Vecsey, who wrote: "Nobody, and certainly not some chemist in a white smock -- swung the bat for Bonds against objects moving 80 or 90 or 100 miles an hour. He had to do that himself, with the superb reflexes he had as a cocky stripling, and the craft he acquired as a smug and enlarged elder."

This is one of the most specious arguments that has been regularly trotted out in Bonds' defense. Of course steroids don't swing the bat. But they permit the user to swing it harder, turning doubles into home runs. And Vecsey's comment begs the question: just how did Bonds become "enlarged"?

Rhoden never addressed the steroid allegations per se, offering this blanket defense, or better yet, pulling the blanket over his head.

RHODEN: Oh no, he, Matt, he's a great home-run hitter. Period. The end.

The end of what? Rhoden's credibility?

Contact Mark at mark@gunhill.net

[DCPatriot]

It’s a good think Hank Aaron isn’t Caucasian...or the loudest argument would be racial.

[Verginius Rufus]

Bob Costas was interviewed this morning on the "Mike and Mike" show on ESPN and was excellent on this whole topic.

Let's hope A-Rod stays healthy...Bonds' record may only last 5 or 6 years.

[kabar]

What are Bond's ages in those two photos? He was with Pittsburg from 1986 [age 22] to 1992 [age 28]. Since 1993, he has been with the SF Giants and is now 43. Most people's bodies change significantly from age 22 to 43, i.e., the aging process over 21 years.

How much of the change is due to steroids and how much is due to aging?

[rod1]

amazing photo comparison

[EDINVA]

some brilliant chemist out there should develop a thought-enhancing steroid for NYT reporters

[rod1]

Having the NY Times covering sports with any real expertise is about as effective as expecting the Royal Opera of London to promote NASCAR.

[SoKatt]

“Cheater”.

[MrLee]

What with all the scandals, drugs, etc the sports records are pretty much meaningless as far as I’m concerned.
I ignore anything after 1970.

[Michael_Michaelangelo]

Barry Bonds' HR Record Tainted by Elbow 'Armor'?

1) The apparatus is hinged at the elbow. It is a literal "hitting machine" that allows Bonds to release his front arm on the same plane during every swing. It largely accounts for the seemingly magical consistency of every Bonds stroke.

2) The apparatus locks at the elbow when the lead arm is fully elongated because of a small flap at the top of the bottom section that fits into a groove in the bottom of the top section. The locked arm forms a rigid front arm fulcrum that allows extraordinary, maximally efficient explosion of the levers of Bonds' wrists. Bonds hands are quicker than those of average hitters because of his mechanical "assistant."

3) When Bonds swings, the weight of the apparatus helps to seal his inner upper arm to his torso at impact. Thus "connected," he automatically hits the ball with the weight of his entire body - not just his arms - as average hitters ("extending") tend to do.

4) Bonds has performed less well in Home Run Derbies than one might expect because he has no excuse to wear a "protector" facing a batting practice pitcher. As he tires, his front arm elbow tends to lift and he swings under the ball, producing towering pop flies or topspin liners that stay in the park. When the apparatus is worn, its weight keeps his elbow down and he drives the ball with backspin.

5) Bonds enjoys quicker access to the inside pitch than average hitters because his "assistant" - counter-intuitively - allows him to turn more rapidly. Everyone understands that skaters accelerate their spins by pulling their arms into their torsos, closer to their axes of rotation. When Bonds is confronted with an inside pitch, he spins like a skater because his upper front arm is "assistant"-sealed tightly against the side of his chest.

6) At impact, Bonds has additional mass (the weight of his "assistant") not available to the average hitter. The combined weight of "assistant" and bat is probably equal to the weight of the lumber wielded by Babe Ruth but with more manageable weight distribution.

[dfwgator]

So why doesn’t MLB simply ban Bonds from using the Elbow pad?

[Long Island Pete]

I guess you are right. My head has gotten to be twice the size in the last 20 years. YEAH RIGHT.

[BufordP]

From: Most Valuable Player - Baseball Almanc

1986	Mike Schmidt(3)	Philadelphia
1987	Andre Dawson(1)	Chicago
1988	Kirk Gibson(1)	Los Angeles
1989	Kevin Mitchell(1)	San Francisco
1990	Barry Bonds(1)	Pittsburgh
1991	Terry Pendleton(1)	Atlanta
1992	Barry Bonds(2)	Pittsburgh
1993	Barry Bonds(3)	San Francisco
1994	Jeff Bagwell(1)	Houston
1995	Barry Larkin(1)	Cincinnati
1996	Ken Caminiti(1)	San Diego
1997	Larry Walker(1)	Colorado
1998	Sammy Sosa(1)	Chicago
1999	Chipper Jones(1)	Atlanta
2000	Jeff Kent(1)	San Francisco
2001	Barry Bonds(4)	San Francisco
2002	Barry Bonds(5)	San Francisco
2003	Barry Bonds(6)	San Francisco
2004	Barry Bonds(7)	San Francisco
2005	Albert Pujols(1)	St. Louis
2006	Ryan Howard(1)	Philadelphia

Barry Bonds Hitting Stats MVP years highlighted in yellow
Yr	Team	G	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	GS	RBI	BB	IBB	SO	SH	SF	HBP	GIDP	AVG	OBP	SLG
1986	Pirates	113	413	72	92	26	3	16	0	48	65	2	102	2	2	2	4	.223	.330	.416
1987	Pirates	150	551	99	144	34	9	25	0	59	54	3	88	0	3	3	4	.261	.329	.492
1988	Pirates	144	538	97	152	30	5	24	0	58	72	14	82	0	2	2	3	.283	.368	.491
1989	Pirates	159	580	96	144	34	6	19	0	58	93	22	93	1	4	1	9	.248	.351	.426
1990	Pirates	151	519	104	156	32	3	33	1	114	93	15	83	0	6	3	8	.301	.406	.565
1991	Pirates	153	510	95	149	28	5	25	0	116	107	25	73	0	13	4	8	.292	.410	.514
1992	Pirates	140	473	109	147	36	5	34	1	103	127	32	69	0	7	5	9	.311	.456	.624
1993	Giants	159	539	129	181	38	4	46	1	123	126	43	79	0	7	2	11	.336	.458	.677
1994	Giants	112	391	89	122	18	1	37	1	81	74	18	43	0	3	6	3	.312	.426	.647
1995	Giants	144	506	109	149	30	7	33	0	104	120	22	83	0	4	5	12	.294	.431	.577
1996	Giants	158	517	122	159	27	3	42	2	129	151	30	76	0	6	1	11	.308	.461	.615
1997	Giants	159	532	123	155	26	5	40	1	101	145	34	87	0	5	8	13	.291	.446	.585
1998	Giants	156	552	120	167	44	7	37	1	122	130	29	92	1	6	8	15	.303	.438	.609
1999	Giants	102	355	91	93	20	2	34	0	83	73	9	62	0	3	3	6	.262	.389	.617
2000	Giants	143	480	129	147	28	4	49	0	106	117	22	77	0	7	3	6	.306	.440	.688
2001	Giants	153	476	129	156	32	2	73	2	137	177	35	93	0	2	9	5	.328	.515	.863
2002	Giants	143	403	117	149	31	2	46	1	110	198	68	47	0	2	9	4	.370	.582	.799
2003	Giants	130	390	111	133	22	1	45	0	90	148	61	58	0	2	10	7	.341	.529	.749
2004	Giants	147	373	129	135	27	3	45	0	101	232	120	41	0	3	9	5	.362	.609	.812
2005	Giants	14	42	8	12	1	0	5	0	10	9	3	6	0	1	0	0	.286	.404	.667
2006	Giants	130	367	74	99	23	0	26	0	77	115	38	51	0	1	10	9	.270	.454	.545
Career		G	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	GS	RBI	BB	IBB	SO	SH	SF	HBP	GIDP	AVG	OBP	SLG
21 Years		2,860	9,507	2,152	2,841	587	77	734	11	1,930	2,426	645	1,485	4	89	103	152	.299	.443	.608

[Enterprise]

“Puffy” or “Buffy”

[Michael_Michaelangelo]

"Puffy"

Funny!! Someone needs to photoshop Barry's face onto the stay-puft marshmallow man.

[Enterprise]

LOL - Someday I’m going to learn how to do it.

[JZelle]

Oh, they had to get Racist Rhoden to weigh in. I watch him on ESPN’s “Sports Reporters” from time to time. I remember a while back they were talking about doping accusations against Lance Armstrong, and all Rhoden said was, “where there’s smoke there’s fire”. I’m sure if Bonds was white, Rhoden would be solidly in his corner. NOT!

[Corporate Law]

If any good comes out of this, it will be an overdue appreciation of what Hank Aaron accomplished.

[N. Theknow]

RHODEN: Oh no, he, Matt, he's a great home-run hitter. Period. The end.

His next article will no doubt praise Michael Vick for ridding the world of dangerous pit bulls.

[Badeye]

RHODEN: Oh no, he, Matt, he’s a great home-run hitter. Period. The end.

The end of what? Rhoden’s credibility?

Yes, as a matter of fact.

[dfwgator]

It’s a good think Hank Aaron isn’t Caucasian...or the loudest argument would be racial.

That's the truth.